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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Day 73

11/15/2013

I woke up in my sleeping bag on the beach. It was 5:00 am, my usual time, and I was supposed to get up and begin a bright new day. It was cold outside of my sleeping bag, so I went back to sleep for another half an hour.

At 5:30 I was up and packing to be off. I had a fruity nutty vanilla bar for breakfast and then pooped into the sea from some rocks. By 7:00 I was in my boat ready to leave the beach. I looked up at the stone house that had been closed to me and saw a face in the window on the top floor.

I waved and smiled. She yanked the curtain shut. The owner of the face then opened the curtain and waved back. The she opened the window and invited me in for coffee.

“Prima dieci minuto I vini. Adesso I qui.” [first ten minutes I wine. Now I here] I gestured to the kayak and then called up “Grazie.”

The forecast had called for a headwind and rain all day. The headwind was to come from land though, so hopeful by staying close to the coast again, which I liked doing anyways even if it slowed me down, I could keep under it.

But the sky was clear and until the last twenty minutes there was mostly a gentle tail wind or no wind at all. So I cut across the mouths of the bays and made good time. I ate right and felt energetic until the last couple of miles when I began to feel depleted. The sun was gone behind a flock of clouds and the wind picked up against me. A gust was so strong that I needed to skull to stay upright until it passed.

Wearily, I arrived in port. As I paddled along a fellow on a gokart kept up with me on the side. He showed me where to take out and I smiled and said “ciao.”

He was the captain of the port and like my story. Yes, there was a small room where I could sleep on the floor. Would I like to shower?